2.07.09 | These are tough times, and there’s no doubt the industry takes comfort in
observing certain routines and rituals. Among the highlights of the year
for A&D folksalong with Contract’s Interiors Awards Breakfast
and the various NeoConsis the annual trek to New York for the
Interior Design magazine Hall of Fame Awards ceremony at
the Waldorf-Astoria. For New Yorkers in the industry, the arrival of
their A&D peers from all over the country and beyond marks the
beginning of the holiday season as surely as the lighting of the tree at
Rockefeller Center.
Competitions and Awards >>, Events >>
12.07.09 | Here's an illustration of how comfortable Bill Bundy is in his own
skin:
On the eve of the annual Michigan-Ohio State border war for pigskin
supremacy, Mr. Bundy is resplendent in bright-hued Buckeye regalia and
he's walking tall through the streets and shops of downtown Holland,
MI. He's initiating eye contact with everyone he encounters,
attracting more than a few shuddering stares and sidelong glances of
bemusement along with some head-shaking harrumphs from the maize-and-blue
locals.
People >>
12.07.09 | No major museums, no tall office towers, nothing on the skylines of
Shanghai or Dubai. Again this year, the Gold Medal of the
American Institute of Architects is going to an architect with a
relatively low profile, whose work is characterized by formal restraint
and elegantly severe detail. The new honoree, Peter Bohlin, is in
a real sense the U.S. equivalent of last year's AIA Gold Medalist,
Glenn Murcutt of Australia.
Competitions and Awards >>, Prof. Associations >>
12.07.09 | The not-so-large town of Big Rapids isn't far from the middle of
the mitten that gives shape to Michigan's lower peninsula, nor is it long
from situating itself at the center of an even more prominent map,
squarely in the vanguard of an academic and cultural movement aimed at
revitalizing America's small towns by embracing sustainable design and
green building practices.
Research >>
12.07.09| The holidays are all about giving and there’s no better gift than giving
back to the community by helping those who are less fortunate. On
December 4, some of New York’s top architectural and design talent
gathered at The Children’s Aid Society’s Dunlevy Milbank
Center in Harlem for a heart-warming holiday traditionmaking crafts
with children who may not otherwise have gifts for their
families.
Events >>
11.30.09| Every holiday it pays to take a moment to ask once again, “What’s this
all about.” Thanksgiving is, of course, a favorite holiday, what with no
worry about presents and the day off for just family and food. The
“family” aspect can be a mixed bag, what with the void caused absent
members who are not there and the usual hassle with the ones that are, or
perhaps would be if they weren’t late.
Manufacturing >>
11.30.09 | The benefits of eliminating waste in process are inestimable and,
while it won't win any LEED points, it might do a lot for the planet and
the people on it. One of the watershed events in the past decades was the
formation of mindshift, a corporate real estate industry
consortium studying the waste that is generated as buildings are
currently designed and built.
Environment >>, Manufacturing >>
11.23.09 | Teknion is a class act, and fun to boot. Long before others in the
industry began focusing on bringing a great experience to the customer
and the A&D community, to say nothing of your humble trade press, the
relative new comer to the contract furniture industry, Teknion was spot
on, right from its very humble beginnings.
Events >>, Manufacturing >>
11.23.09 | LED lighting is a technically demanding category that many
manufacturers have yet to get right. Two companies that have
mastered the finer points of LED – Humanscale and Artemide
– are building on this success with a strategic partnership for product
development and joint marketing efforts.
11.23.09 | While, it may be a gift for us to see ourselves as other see us, quite
often it is an unwelcome one. Every time I sit down to write a few
observations, I am reminded that it is extremely hard to change a way of
thinking, particularly regarding oneself or one’s traditional way of
doing business. Past success leads down the same path, even as events
suggest that the future no longer lies in that direction.
11.23.09 | A&D firms must become more business savvy. Such is the received
wisdom of this year’s State of the Industry Panel at NeoCon
East 09. (See officeinsight issues 11.9.09 and 11.16.09.) To this
not-so-welcome news, we are compelled to add that, business savvy
requires a certain level of legal savvy for, after all, it is the law
that sets the rules of the game
Random Walk >>
11.23.09 | Ah. A certain slant of light, varying with the season. And varying in
intensity from the objects – leaves and windows and eyes – through which
it passes. This Thanksgiving-time-of-year light is slanting into the
angle that caught and clouded the poet’s mood back in nineteenth century
Amherst, Massachusetts. Well, in Manhattan recently, Fabbian lighting
experts hosted a show celebrating the work of New York and New Jersey
designers. And in its pages Metropolis Magazine boxed little
photos of the show.
Ira Joe >>
